Cross sections and surfaces of Bashofu fibers

A series of photographs and 3D visualizations. Top is a photograph of a cross-section of an Itobashou banana stem, with annotations pointing to different fiber grades. Below that a photo of 4 bundles of fibers. Below that a series of microscope images of fiber cross sections, clearly showing the differences in cell wall thickness. Below is a series of green, 3D projections of fibers, and finally a series of black-and-white SEM images.

Image analysis of Bashofu fibers. Top shows a cross-section of an Itobashou pseudostem, showing layers the Bashofu fibers are extracted from. a) is a photograph of different grades of Bashofu fibers, Waha being the toughest, used for interior textiles, and Nahagu being the softest, used for clothing. Nahagu can be further separated into Nuki and Hashi, used in weaving as the crosswise weft and vertical warp threads respectively.



b-g) shows the typical cross-section of the fibers in the same order (b, Waha; c, Nahau; d, e, Nahagu Nuki; f, g, Nahagu Hashi), showing the clear differences in cell wall thickness that characterize each grade of fiber. Notice the honeycomb-like structure of the fibers which promote water diffusion, keeping the body cool by leading sweat away from the skin.



h-k) are volumetric 3D projections based on stained microscopy images, showing the accumulation of residues (arrows) during the Bashofu process, which are absent in the finer Nahagu fibers (k).



l-s) are scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of the surfaces of the fibers at a scale of 100 μm (top row) and 10 μm (bottom row). Notice the smoothness of Nahagu fibers compared to the other grades.

Date:
10 November 2025
Credit:
Koizumi et al., 2025

Copyright OIST (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, 沖縄科学技術大学院大学). Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

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